Former CEO Carlos Ghosn suffered a setback on Thursday after a Dutch court ordered him to repay 5 million euros ($6.1 million) in wages to Nissan and Mitsubishi in a case he had brought.
The case, one of a series of legal battles associating one of the best-known figures in the auto industry, centres around the Dutch-registered joint venture Nissan-Mitsubishi BV (NMBV), where Ghosn was removed as chairman in 2019.
Ghosn claimed the Japanese companies breached Dutch labor laws when they dismissed him and had demanded compensation of 15 million euros ($18.3 million) for missed wages and severance payments.
But the district court in Amsterdam sided with the automakers, stating that Ghosn did not have a valid employment agreement with the joint venture, as it lacked the necessary consent of the boards of Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Ghosn was therefore ordered to pay back the 5 million euros in net payments that he got from the Amsterdam-based joint venture between April and November 2018.
A representative for Ghosn said that his client would appeal the verdict so that the testimony of witnesses who would support his case could be heard.
Both Nissan and Mitsubishi said they were happy to see their allegations were supported by the court.
